Changes of Fate
by rjlovett
Summary: What would happen if Hawk's two kids DIDN'T die?
1. Prologue

**CHANGES OF FATE**

Author's Note: This is an AU fic based on Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future. I decided to change things up and write a fic about what might happen if Hawk's two kids didn't die. And if their fate is changed...will that change the fate of anyone else? I don't own any of the characters, this just for fun and entertainment. In some instances (particularly in the later chapters) I used direct quotes from the television show. It was necessary to write the story correctly. Please don't sue, I have nothing, seriously.

PROLOGUE

"Do you ever wonder why you keep going?"

Major Matthew "Hawk" Masterson looked at his friend and blinked. Had Tank really just asked him that? Really? Chalk this one up to wonders never ceasing.

"No. I keep going because I don't want my wife and children to have died in vain. Nor Stuart Power." Hawk replied, as they were joined by Captain Jonathan Power. "I keep going because I want Dread to be punished for what he's done to this country...and the world. And I keep going to try and preserve humanity. What little is left."

"I have a question." Jon said. "Do you think things would be different if Dad, Joanna, Mitch and Katie were still alive?"

"Yes." Hawk said instantly, without hesitation. "I don't know if Dread would be gone yet, but with their help...we'd be a lot closer to having that happen."

"I really miss them." Jon said softly.

Hawk sighed. "Me too, kid. Me too."

"Private Katherine Joanna Masterson."

Katie took a breath and glanced to the young man just behind her. They both smiled. Then she walked across the stage to the uniformed man standing in the middle, as confidently as her nerves would allow. She beamed as he pinned the wings to her uniform, and then shook his hand before crossing the stage. Once she was at the other side, she stopped, turned and watched.

"Private Mitchell Matthew Masterson."

Katie's older brother took his turn crossing the stage and receiving his wings as well, then he joined her.

"We did it." Mitch said softly.

Katie nodded. "Mom and Dad would be so proud of us...Do you think Mom's watching us?"

"Yeah...Do you think Dad's still alive?"

Katie sighed. "I hope so...Jon too."

"I want to find them." Mitch said, keeping his voice low so none of their fellow graduates would hear them.

"Mitch, we shouldn't go back there...you've heard the reports of the devastation in the US..."

The duo started walking away from everyone, heading to the door. There was no need for them to stick around, and they had always been more likely to stick together, than with anyone else. Their class knew that, and no one was surprised to see them leaving. Once they were outside, Mitch replied, speaking freely.

"I just feel like if I stay here, it's cowardly." he said. "Especially now that there's really nothing stopping me from hopping in a jet and going."

Katie tried not to roll her eyes. "Nothing except me. Mitch, seriously. Mom died so that we'd have a chance at surviving...a chance at freedom. From what I've heard, everyone was told we'd been killed too. That means that for the last 15 years, Dad has thought we were dead, just like Mom, just like Stuart."

"I know, I know..." Mitch sighed. "But if Dad and Jon are still alive...wouldn't you want to go help them fight in the resistance instead of staying here and trying to pretend we're normal?"

"We're not normal." Katie said softly. "No one else here came from that. We're not like them."

"That's my point." Mitch said. "We know what's it's like down there. We lived it. Up here...god, if Dad and Jon could see what it's like here...it's like the wars never happened...it's like Dread doesn't exist."

"Except we know he does."

"Hey Mitch! Katie! Wait up!"

The siblings paused and looked behind them. They couldn't help but smile at the red-haired young man coming after them. He was the only member of their class they really considered to be their friend.

"Hey Lucas." Katie said when he'd caught up and started walking with them.

"So...what are you two planning on doing now? I mean..."

"We were just talking about that." Mitch replied. Katie shot him a look and he didn't divulge any further information.

"Oh yeah?" Lucas grinned. "Well, I know what I'd like to do, but my parents will never let me."

"What's that?"

"Go down to the States and join the resistance." Lucas said easily.

Mitch and Katie exchanged a look behind their friend's back. This revelation from Lucas came as a surprise to them. He had never mentioned wanting to do that before.

"You've never said..." Mitch began.

"Yeah I know. Dad forbade me from talking about it, so I never brought it up, even at school."

"Why don't they want you to go?" Katie asked.

Lucas sighed. "Jamie."

"Huh?" Mitch and Katie were confused.

"My older brother. I'm not supposed to talk about him either. But he went down and fought for the resistance and was killed. So they don't want me going."

"That makes sense, Lucas." Katie said. "You really should listen to them. Get a job up here. Stay safe."

"Is that what you're going to do?" Lucas asked.

"I...I don't know." Katie admitted. She hated to admit it, but deep down, she wondered if staying was the right thing to do.

"The thing is," Mitch said, trying to rescue his sister. "we're from there. You know that. We lived during the wars, we escaped only because our mother sacrificed herself for us. Our dad and one of our best friends are still there, from what we know, still fighting Dread. We belong there. We should be there helping them."

"But don't they all think you're dead?" Lucas asked. "How would it go over if you showed up, fifteen years later, alive?"

"They'd be thrilled." Katie said. "Especially if we could help them fight."

"So...you're thinking about it."

"I am." Mitch replied with a laugh. "My sensible sister is trying to talk me out of it, while I'm trying to talk her into coming with me."

Lucas stopped. "I should get back. My folks are probably wondering where I disappeared to." He looked at Katie. "If you decide to go...don't forget about me, okay?"

Katie smiled at him and nodded. "Never."

Mitch, knowing it would be appreciated, kept walking to give them a bit of space. As much as Katie and Lucas had tried to hide it from him, he knew that they cared deeply for each other.

They watched him walk for a moment, then turned their attention back to each other. Lucas pulled Katie into his arms and kissed her, a gesture she returned willingly. When they broke the kiss a moment later, Lucas spoke quietly.

"If you do go...please come back?"

Katie sighed. "I can't promise that, Lucas, you know that. All I can say is I'll try."

"You sound like you've made up your mind."

Another sigh escaped Katie's lips. "If we can help...it's where we belong. I didn't want to admit it, but Mitch is right."

Lucas kissed her again. "Okay. So...be safe, alright?"

"I will. And I will come back when...if...I can."

Lucas let her go, turned and headed back to the reception hall. Katie watched him go, then jogged to catch up to her brother.

"Thanks." She said when she got to him.

Mitch smiled. "I'm not stupid, Kate."

Katie nodded. "I know. So...when are you planning on leaving?"

Mitch raised an eyebrow. "You think I should, now? What about Mom dying to give us freedom?"

Katie sighed again. She was doing that a lot, and she didn't like it, but she couldn't help it. "I think...the resistance could probably use a couple more people who can fly."

If Mitch's jaw could have hit the ground it would have. "You..."

"I want to find Dad and Jon, too, Mitch." Katie said quietly.

"Mom would be mortified." Mitch said.

Katie thought about it for a moment and then shook her head. "No. I don't think she would be. I think she'd understand that we have to do what we feel is right...for us, and for the survival of humanity. That's what this is about. If we can help stop Lord Dread and help save even a bit of humanity...it's worth it."

"Yeah...I think you're right." Mitch agreed with a smile. "So...how soon can you be ready?"

"Once we get home? An hour, tops." Katie replied. "Why...?"

"I have already acquired a jet." Mitch explained. "In all honesty, I was going to go whether you approved or not."

"Well, I don't know about approving, but I'm going with you, so I hope it has room for two."

Mitch laughed. "It does. Wanna take turns flying?"

"Hell yeah."


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

"Captain, there's a aircraft hovering near the east warp gate." Sergeant Robert "Scout" Baker reported.

"What kind of aircraft?"

"Not Soaron. And not one of Dread's ships, that I can tell." Scout replied. "I just don't know if it's friendly or not. It's been flying around the gate for the last ten minutes. It's almost like whoever's flying it knows the gate is there."

"But no one alive knows the gate is there..." Hawk commented.

"Let's wait and see what it does."

The members of the team stood by the computer, watching. After a few minutes, the aircraft landed, not far from the gate.

"Mentor," Jon said. "Can you tell us what kind of ship that is?"

The computer image of Stuart Power appeared. "It's Canadian. It's not likely to be an enemy. It's a well known fact that Canadians have been supportive of the resistance in the past."

Jon nodded. "I wonder how they know about the gate..."

"We could try to call them." Tank suggested.

"Too dangerous. Don't want Dread intercepting it." Jon said. "Hawk, why don't you and I fly out and see?

"Sounds good."

"The rest of us will be here if you need us." Scout said.

At the aircraft, Mitch was pacing.

"I know it's here..."

"Mitch they don't know it's us, they think we're dead. They aren't going to open the gate for anyone." Katie reminded him.

The duo had had a long, but uneventful, flight and had finally reached their destination. They had been lucky that Dread hadn't come after them, and that they were able to find enough fuel to make it. Now that they had arrived, they were a little apprehensive.

They had learned on one of their stops that their friend Jon Power was alive and was pretty much leading the resistance with his team. Further probing allowed them to discover that Jon's right hand man was their father.

Fifteen years had passed since they had last seen their father or their friend. Katie had told Lucas they'd be thrilled to see them alive, but was that really going to be the case? Would they even recognize them?

Mitch kept pacing and Katie looked out the window. Just in time to see the gate open.

"Oh my god! Mitch! It's open!"

Mitch ran to join her and they both watched as a person on a skybike and...was that really?...a person flying on his own flew through the gate. It closed behind them, and they landed near the aircraft. Each man was wearing a suit of armor that looked like it was tailor made for him.

Katie and Mitch looked at each other. This was it. This was the moment they had worked towards for the last fifteen years, and they had just realized it.

"Should we go out?" Katie asked.

"I don't know." Mitch replied, for the first time unsure of himself. They watched as one of the men went to the door of their craft.

"Um..." Katie started. She was interrupted by a knock. "We should answer that."

"Yeah..."

Mitch hit the button to open the door of the aircraft. Then they waited. It wasn't long before a voice called in.

"Hello? I'm Captain Jonathan Power. Come out here and tell me who you are and why you're here."

Mitch and Katie both almost laughed. It was so good to hear their old friend's voice...even if it was a much older voice than they remembered.

"We're home." Katie whispered.

"Yeah." Mitch smiled. Loudly, so Jon would hear, he said, "You might want to sit down, Captain."

"What do you mean?" Jon asked, curious.

"Oh you know..." Katie said, as she and Mitch walked over and stood in the doorway. "You might think you're looking at ghosts."

"Oh my god..." Hawk gasped, literally falling to his knees. They were no longer the fifteen and thirteen year old kids he remembered, but he would know them anywhere.

Mitch turned quickly at the sound of his father's voice. "Dad...?"

Hawk powered down his suit and stood up, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Yeah..."

Jon had also recognized the pair. He powered his suit down as well. "They said you were dead..."

"Yeah, that's a long story..." Katie said. "Much too long to tell standing out here..." She and Mitch hugged their dad. "Can we...?"

"Yeah, follow us." Jon said. He grinned at Hawk. "Well, now we know how they knew about the gate..."

"Yeah." Hawk grinned back. He was in awe...and could not wait to get the kids home to the base so he could talk to them. They had fifteen years to catch up on, after all.

Mitch and Katie flew their aircraft through the gate, following their dad and Jon. They arrived at the Power Base a few minutes later. Once they landed again, they grabbed their bags and joined their father and Jon.

"The others are going to lose their minds..." Hawk laughed.

"How come?" Mitch asked.

"We didn't tell them anything, we just radioed that we were coming back and would not be alone." Jon explained. "Usually people get blindfolded before they're taken here."

"Makes sense."

Together, they walked into the main common area of the base...the area with Mentor and the Power Suit charging machine. They were met by Tank, Scout and Pilot, all of whom looked curious and more than a little confused.

"I assume you have a good reason...?" Tank said, eying Mitch and Katie carefully.

Both Jon and Hawk smiled. "Yep." Jon replied. He looked at Hawk. "You should do it."

"Thanks." Hawk grinned. Getting him to stop smiling was going to prove difficult, at least for the next few days. He looked at the team. "Guys, as amazing as this sounds...I'd like you to meet Mitch and Katie. My kids."

"What?!" Tank, Scout and Pilot exclaimed in unison.

"You said they died..." Pilot said softly.

"I was told they had." Hawk admitted. "But apparently we were all wrong." He looked at his kids and then said, "The rest of our team: Lieutenant Michael Ellis, Sergeant Robert Baker and Corporal Jennifer Chase. You can call them Tank, Scout and Pilot. If you want."

Hands were shaken all around, then everyone pulled up a chair. Once settled, Hawk addressed his kids again.

"So...your mom..."

Mitch nodded. "She died in the attack you were told killed all of us. She hid us in the house we were staying in and told the Bio-Dreads that we were gone and they'd never find us. They killed her and searched the house, but not very hard. Needless to say, they didn't find us."

"After they all left," Katie took up the tale. "We left our hiding place and did what Mom had instructed us to do: find Felix Hamilton. He was a Canadian pilot who had come to the town to take us to safety. Luckily, he survived the attack as well, and took us and a couple other survivors with him to Nova Scotia. Mom had asked him to look after us, and that's what he and his wife did. They took us in and gave us a home."

"My god..." Hawk breathed. He would have never guessed that Joanna had set such a thing up, but it made sense. She died protecting their kids so they could get to safety and peace.

"We finished our schooling and then worked for a bit. Eventually we decided to go to flight school, to become pilots." Mitch said. "We graduated a few days ago and left that same night to head here."

"That was dangerous." Jon said.

"It wasn't my idea." Katie laughed.

"I was planning it from the start." Mitch admitted. "Katie wasn't. She tried to talk me out of it, but realized it was the right thing for us to do. We should be here, fighting for the resistance."

"Besides that, we both wanted to find you two." Katie said, smiling at her dad and Jon.

"It's a wonder Dread didn't intercept you." Scout said. "Usually he's right up on anything going on, especially aircraft that maybe shouldn't be flying around."

"We did a lot of our flying at night." Mitch said. "Plus, it's equipped with stealth mode, so he'd have a hard time tracking us."

"Ooh. Can I take a look and see how that was added to the ship?" Pilot asked. "If we could rig something like that up for the Jumpship..."

"Sure..." Katie replied. She liked the idea that she wasn't the only woman in the room, and was looking forward to having Pilot to talk to. "I can show you now if you want..."

"No, it can wait." Pilot said. "You're probably tired."

"Not going to deny that one." Mitch laughed. "However, there's one thing that's got us curious." He looked at Katie, who grinned and then addressed their father about something they discussed as they were en route to the base.

"You can fly? When did THAT happen?"

Hawk laughed. "I was thinking we'd talk about that tomorrow, after you'd had some rest, but since you asked...Stuart created seven armor suits, which are all different. They conform to the person who puts them on, and once that happens, that suit can never be worn by anyone else. Mine happens to have retractable wings, which gives me the ability to fly without the aid of a ship or a skybike."

Both Katie and Mitch nodded. That was all the explanation they needed. They had already seen Jon's suit as well, and were looking forward to seeing the suits of the other three team members, but Pilot was right. They were tired. The trip had caught up to them and they needed some sleep.

Hawk and Pilot showed them to bedrooms that would be theirs from then on. The rooms were plain, but Mitch and Katie didn't mind that. For the first time in fifteen years, they felt at home.

Pilot hovered near the door of Katie's room. She wasn't used to having another girl around, and wasn't sure what to do.

Katie sat on the bed and smiled at the other woman. "You can have a seat if you want." She motioned to the chair in the corner.

Pilot nodded and sat down. "Hawk talks about you and your brother a lot."

Katie nodded slightly. "Of course. He's our dad. He thought we were killed when we were teenagers. Fiona...that's Felix's wife...always says that parents should never outlive their children and it's a terrible tragedy when they do."

"Did she speak from experience?"

"Yes. Their son was killed in an accident not long after we moved in with them. He was only a little boy."

"I'm sorry." Pilot said.

"It's okay. What about your family?"

Pilot shifted uncomfortably. She barely knew Katie, but yet...Katie was Hawk's daughter. And she could tell Hawk anything. So maybe she could tell Katie things too. "I...I don't know. I was taken from them as a young child and..."

"And...?" Katie prompted gently.

"And raised in Volcania. In the Dread Youth."

Katie blinked. She certainly was not expecting to hear those words from the other girl's mouth. "Wow." she said softly. She paused and then continued. "You...left...?"

Pilot nodded. "I learned the truth. And once that happened, I couldn't stay. If I did, and they found out I knew, they'd kill me, or have me digitized. It was either that or leave. So I left."

"Lesser of two evils. I'd say you made the right choice." Katie said. She wasn't sure she would have been as brave as the young woman in front of her, but then again, she was only thirteen when she escaped the war on humanity herself. "Dad and Jon took you in?"

"They and the others found me. And yes, they did. It hasn't always been easy. But I'm glad to be here, and glad to fight on the side of humanity."

"It's a worthy cause, for sure. That's why we came back. We belong here. We'll do whatever we can to help end Dread's rule." Katie said. She tried to hide a yawn but failed. Pilot smiled and got up.

"You should get some rest. The bathroom is down the hall if you need it."

"Thanks. I'll see you later."

Pilot left and shut the door behind herself. Katie watched her go and then shook her head. She laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "Incredible." She said softly. "Maybe there's hope for humanity yet."

Down the hall, Mitch was getting settled while Hawk sat and watched him. It had always amazed him that Mitch so strongly resembled him, and now, seeing Mitch as an adult, it cemented that amazement. It was like looking in the mirror at himself at thirty years old.

"I just can't believe this." Hawk commented. "It seems like a dream."

"One I imagine you've had frequently for the last fifteen years..." Mitch replied.

Hawk nodded. "It's tough to be told your wife and children are dead. It was hard...there was nothing I could have done...but if I'd been there, maybe I could have..."

"Don't beat yourself up about it." Mitch said. "You and Mom did what you felt you needed to do. Katie and I don't blame you or anything."

"Well maybe now I can stop blaming myself." Hawk laughed. "So...I'm not a grandfather or anything, am I?"

Mitch chuckled. His dad had not changed. "No. Not even any in-laws to deal with. But..."

Hawk lit up. "But...?"

"I shouldn't tell you. I don't know enough details." Mitch shook his head.

"Katie?"

"Yeah."

Hawk nodded. "Best to let her come forward with it." He got up. "You get some rest. We'll talk more tomorrow."

"Okay. G'night Dad."

Hawk smiled. That was something he'd never thought he'd hear again. "Goodnight, Mitch."

He left his son's room and walked down the hall to see if Katie was still awake. The light was on, so he knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Hawk opened the door with a smile. "I won't stay long. Just wanted to say goodnight."

Katie smiled and put down the book she was writing in. "It's okay. Come on in."

"Journal?" Hawk asked as he sat down.

"Yeah. I have had several over the years. I didn't bring them with me, of course, but started this new one the other day when we left Canada."

"That's a good thing to do. Tells whoever might find them in the future what was going on."

Katie nodded. "That's my thought." She sighed. "Things sure have changed."

"Yup. And not for the better. If it wasn't for Dread..."

"From what I've heard, his methods aren't foolproof..." Katie commented.

Hawk raised an eyebrow. "Pilot told you...?"

"Just that she was raised in the Dread Youth and left when she learned the truth. I was pretty shocked, to say the least. But if you and Jon trust her..."

"With our lives." Hawk replied.

"That's all I need. I'm just glad to not be the only girl around here!" Katie laughed.

"I'm sure Pilot is thinking that too, but she probably won't say it."

Katie fell silent, thinking. Finally she looked at her dad. "Do you think we stand a chance...?"

Hawk frowned. "Honestly? I don't know. I like to think we do. But at this point, it's so hard to say. We don't know enough about what he's doing and what he's got planned."

"Yeah." Katie agreed. "I'd like to go back when it's all over...let Felix and Fiona know we're okay...and..."

Hawk remained silent. He knew the "and" had to do with someone else, thanks to Mitch, but didn't want to prod her if she wasn't ready to tell him.

Katie went a different route. "How do you handle being away from the person you care about? Especially if you can't write them or call them?"

Hawk sighed. "The only thing you can do is go about your daily life and think about them when it's safe to do so. You'll always wonder and worry about their well-being, but don't let it cloud your judgement or you could end up in a lot of trouble."

Katie nodded. "That makes sense. Thanks."

"Is there...?"

She laughed. "Yeah. He wanted me to promise I'd come back, but I couldn't do that...because I didn't want to make a promise I might not be able to keep. So I told him I'd try."

"That's a much better promise...one that is easier to keep." Hawk said. "Care to tell me his name?"

"Da-ad...!" Katie complained with another laugh. "You haven't changed, you just got older." She paused. "I love that...I love that you're still you even after everything."

Hawk smiled warmly at his daughter, taking a moment to really look at her and study her short dark hair and green eyes. "I love that you look like your mother." He said softly. Then he grinned. "So...his name?"

Katie groaned. "Fine. His name is Lucas. He was in our class in flight school."

"Is it serious?"

"Okay, now you're going too far for one conversation." Katie scolded gently. "Isn't it bedtime or something?"

Hawk laughed. He knew he wasn't getting anything more out of her just then. "Okay, okay. I'm going." He got up and went to the door, then turned and smiled again. "Goodnight, Katie."

Katie smiled. "Goodnight, Dad."


	3. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Mitch woke up early the next morning and stretched. It took him a moment to remember where he was, but he smiled when he did. He'd have to find a way to chat with Jon for awhile soon and get caught up.

He got up and headed down the hallway. He noticed that his sister's room was empty, which surprised him. She was up already? That never happened. Then again, it wasn't often he was up so early either. Both of them loved their sleep.

He went to the control room and stopped at the door. There was Katie, sitting and talking with Scout and Tank, looking as if she had always been there.

Scout sensed Mitch's presence and looked in his direction. "Mornin', Mitch! Want some coffee?"

Mitch entered the room and smiled. "I'd love some." Scout started to get up, but Mitch stopped him. He saw the coffee maker and cups. "I got it. It's fine. What are you guys doing?"

"They're showing me the most recent information they've received about Dread. I admit, it's gibberish to me, but fascinating at the same time." Katie replied. "These plans...it kind of makes me wonder if..."

"If what?" Tank asked.

Mitch knew what his sister was thinking. "You forget. We knew him before he was Lord Dread. Sure we were kids, but still. Lyman Taggart wasn't like this...he wasn't Lord Dread. So what really happened to change him? And is he the one who's really in charge, or is it someone...or something...else calling all the shots and using him as a pawn?"

"We've wondered that as well." Jon answered, walking into the room with Hawk and Pilot. They were carrying trays of breakfast for everyone.

"My understanding is, he is." Pilot said. "At least that's what we were always told and led to believe. However, for all his dedication to the machine...he's not really one himself, is he? He's only part machine."

"By all counts that means he's imperfect, unlike the machines he claims to dedicate himself to." Hawk said.

"And if even a little bit of the old Lyman Taggart is still somewhere in his consciousness..." Mitch said. "Then there's actually a good chance he's really not the one calling all the shots, he just thinks he is."

"Then whoever is calling the shots is damned good at it...and damned good at making Dread think he's the one doing it." Katie said.

"Overmind." Hawk said quietly.

"Huh?" Mitch asked. "Who's that?"

"He's a computer that my dad and Taggart made." Jon admitted. "He's in Volcania with Dread. He's smart and powerful. If anyone could do what we're talking about, it's probably him. And Dread probably has no idea that he's anything more than a guide."

"So...it might not be enough to stop Dread..." Katie said. "We have to stop this Overmind thing too, in order to win this war."

"Yup." Hawk replied.

"Great. And how do we suppose we're going to do that?"

Jon sighed. "We don't know yet."

The next few days passed uneventfully. Katie showed Pilot the stealth mode on the ship she and Mitch had brought down from Canada, and then Pilot and Scout spent most of their time trying to figure out a way to rig one on their own ship. It would certainly make things easier.

Mitch and Katie explored the Power Base, and learned more about the team, the Power Suits and what had been going on in the past fifteen years. It wasn't pretty.

They also each spent some time with their dad and with Jon. Katie got her chance to talk to Jon late one night when she passed through the control room on the way to get a drink of water.

Jon was sitting at the main computer with his feet up on the desk. He was looking at a stack of papers but had one eye on the monitors.

"Do you guys take turns staying up all night or what?" Katie asked.

He looked at her. "Not all night. We take it in shifts so we all get rest, too. Your dad will be relieving me in a couple of hours. How come you're up?"

"Thirsty." Katie admitted. "I'll be back." She went to the kitchen, poured them each a glass of water and rejoined him.

"Oh, thanks." Jon said, taking his glass from her.

She sat down in the chair by him. "So...what'cha doing?"

"Reading a report and keeping an eye on things in case there are any attacks during the night that need our attention."

"That sounds thrilling." Katie deadpanned.

"Oh it is. Believe me." Jon replied sarcastically. "Mitch told me going to flight school was your idea...?"

"Does that surprise you?"

"Nope. You always thought it was the coolest thing ever that your dad could fly ships. I remember when we were really little...I think you were only about five...you said you wanted to do what he did when you grew up."

"Yeah well. Little girls idolize their fathers. Or they're supposed to. Or something. I don't know." Katie laughed. "I just knew it was something I wanted to do. I was thinking of flying for an airline or something, not coming down here to see if my services could help fight Dread."

"Yeah that part was all on Mitch..." Jon said.

"Yeah. While I had dreams of making a living flying in Canada in peace, he had dreams of being a fighter pilot. Go figure." Katie grinned.

"I'm glad you both came down." Jon said. "I know it's done wonders for Hawk to know you're not dead, and frankly, I'm glad to learn it too. We both missed you a lot."

"We missed you too. We feel like we belong here...with you guys." Katie said. "I just wish we'd been able to come back under different circumstances. Like, peace."

"Yeah."

The friends were silent for a moment, each lost in thought. Katie decided then to ask him a question that was nagging at her.

"Jon...be honest. Do you guys need our help here? Or would we be of better use elsewhere?"

The question, put so bluntly, startled Jon. He knew it shouldn't. But he wasn't used to conversing with the twenty-eight year-old Katie. The thirteen year old Katie he had known would never have asked such a thing.

Then again, she wouldn't have needed to. Times had changed. And they had grown up.

"I've been trying to figure that out since you guys got here." He finally replied. "The answer is...I don't know right now. Do we, as a team, need more pilots? No. We have Pilot, and your dad if there comes a situation when Pilot can't fly the Jumpship. However..."

"You don't want to ask us to leave, even if our services would be better used halfway across the country." Katie finished.

"It would break his heart. I can't do it." Jon said quietly. "He was there for me during both of our darkest times, and he just got some light back. I won't...I can't..."

"You want to know what I think?"

Jon looked at her. "Of course."

"You'll have to ask him, but I think he'd want us to be where we would be the most useful towards the cause. Whether it's here or somewhere else. I don't think he'd like it, but what part of any of this should we be liking? We have to do what's the best for the resistance, for humanity. To hell with what we want or what makes us happiest."

"Wow." Jon said softly.

"I bet Mitch didn't say that."

"No. He didn't. But it's also not the type of thing he'd say."

"True." Katie laughed. Then she grew serious again. "My guess is, he'd like to go fly for a group somewhere else. He's glad to be here, but wants to be more on the front lines, and if you don't need him to fly for you..."

"I won't stop him if he wants to do that. But I would recommend he speak with your dad about it first before making any decisions." Jon said. "And I recommend the same to you, if you feel the same way."

Katie sighed. "Thing is...I don't. Now that I'm here, I feel like I'm home. I don't want to leave. At least not anytime soon. I just don't know what I could do around here to be useful, both to you and to the resistance."

"Well maybe we can figure something out." Jon said. "You've only been here for a few days. Let's wait and see what we can come up with."

Katie got up. "Sounds okay to me. I'm going to bed. Have fun with your report and your computer."

"Doubt it." Jon laughed. "Night."

An hour and a half later, Hawk walked into the command center. "Anything going on?"

Jon looked up. "Nope. At least not on the war front. Katie was here to keep me company for a bit. We had an...interesting...talk."

"Oh?"

"She wants to be useful." Jon said. "Hell, so does Mitch. But..."

Hawk sighed. "Mitch wants to go."

"He told you?" 

"Yeah, tonight. He wants to go to one of the outposts and do supply runs or anything..."

"What do you think of that?" Jon watched his friend closely.

"I don't like it. But I can't deny that it's a good idea. Jackson lost a pilot recently." Hawk replied. "I wouldn't have a problem if he went there. Jackson knows I'd kick his ass..."

Jon laughed. "I'd be right behind you. After getting them back after fifteen years of thinking they were dead...yeah."

"What else did Katie say?"

"She doesn't want to leave. But she doesn't know what she can do here to be useful."

"I don't want her to leave." Hawk said. "I think I can handle Mitch leaving, but not her...The question is, do we have room for her on the team?"

"If we can figure out what she can do, we will discuss that as a team. It's not a decision you and I can or should make without consulting with the others."

"Right." Hawk nodded. "So...we need to figure out if there's a place for her. And if not, maybe...the Passages? Somewhere she could be useful but safer?"

Jon nodded in return. "Agreed. Hey...what did she go to school for, did she say? I know they finished their schooling and did some work, but Mitch never said what they actually took at school prior to going to flight school."

Hawk thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. She didn't tell me. That might be a good place to start."

A few days later, they were getting ready to send Mitch to Jackson's team as their new pilot. He was planning on taking the Canadian ship he and Katie had flown down.

"I don't know how I feel about this..." Katie said as she watched her brother pack his things up. "We haven't been here that long..."

"I know." Mitch said. "But Jon and Dad said that this Jackson guy really needs a new pilot, and I want to be that pilot."

Katie nodded. "Yeah...you'll keep in touch, right?"

"If I don't, Dad will never forgive me." Mitch laughed. "That was one of his stipulations. I have to keep in touch and don't do anything stupid that will get me killed."

"I agree with those stipulations." Katie grinned. "We didn't come all this way to get ourselves killed. At least not after only a couple of weeks."

Mitch paused and looked at his little sister. "Any idea what you're going to do?" 

"No. I don't want to leave here, that much I know, but I don't know if I can be useful to the team here. They certainly don't need me to be a pilot..."

"Well you can be a backup to the backup in that. But you do have training they don't have...have you told them that?"

"Not yet. I was thinking we should get you situated first." Katie replied. It was true. Prior to deciding to follow her dream and go to flight school to become a pilot, Katie had been trained as a medic. And a medic was something the Power Team did not have.

"I hope they let you join the team." Mitch said. "I bet one of those suits would look cool on you."

"Initial activation is dangerous as hell." Katie reminded him.

"So? You're a Masterson. If Dad can hack it, so can you."

"It almost killed Dad." Another reminder from the conversations they had been having with Hawk since they returned.

"True...but you'd be fine."

"I'm glad you have such confidence in me." Katie said. She paused and then said softly, "I know you'll do great as a pilot for that Jackson guy. You were always better at it than me."

"Thanks."

A few hours later, after dark, Mitch left the Power Base and headed out into the unknown to meet up with Andy Jackson.

"I'm not going to be able to relax until he's safe with Jackson." Hawk commented as they all went back to the command center.

"Me neither." Jon and Katie both replied in unison. Then they laughed.

Pilot, Scout and Tank headed off to bed. Because of Mitch leaving, Hawk had volunteered to take the first watch that night, and Jon and Katie wanted to keep him company for a little while anyway.

They sat around the computer in silence for a few minutes, but Jon finally broke the quiet with a question.

"Hey, Katie...we were wondering something." He began.

"What's that?" Katie asked.

"Well, Mitch said you guys went to school, then got jobs for awhile before going to flight school. What did you do?"

"I'm a medic. I can't do open heart surgery or anything major, but can handle most everything else. Well, maybe I could do the major things, if someone could walk me through it. I've never tried." She replied.

Hawk and Jon looked at each other. A medic? The whole team could do rudimentary stuff, but none of them had ever had any real training in the area. Here's where Katie could be a useful addition to the team. They both realized it at once.

"And yet you're wondering how you could be useful..." Jon teased. "Are you kidding me?"

Katie laughed. "I remembered after I left that night, but didn't want to come back down and bug you. Just been waiting for the right time...and I wanted to get Mitch taken care of first, since he was leaving and as far as I figured, I wasn't, at least not yet."

"We need a medic." Hawk told his daughter. "We can do very basic things on the fly, but..."

"Nothing like what I'm trained to do." Katie finished.

"Exactly." Jon confirmed. "We need to discuss this with the others."

"Of course." Katie hoped that the team would decide to ask her to join them officially, but knew her services could be useful elsewhere if they didn't. She had wanted to be a pilot, but was starting to realize that in this crazy war, her medical training would probably be a better fit.


	4. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

The next morning, while Katie was still asleep, Jon called a team meeting, to discuss what he and Hawk had learned the night before.

Tank, Scout and Pilot looked at the other two men expectantly. They were curious, especially since meetings didn't usually get called first thing in the morning unless it was really important.

"Is there new developments about Dread?" Scout asked.

"No." Jon shook his head. "We wanted to talk to you about Katie."

"What about her?" Tank wondered. "She's a great girl. We like having her here." Scout and Pilot nodded their agreement with that statement.

"So do I." Jon grinned. "And I'm pretty sure no one's happier than Hawk that she's here."

"True." Hawk confirmed. "The question we have, though, is, do you think there's a place for her on the team?"

The others were silent for a moment, thinking. Finally, Pilot said,

"We don't need another person to fly ships...if there's ever a time that I can't, Hawk can. Or you could, Captain."

Jon nodded. "We were thinking that. It's true that we don't need another pilot."

"Can she do anything else, though?" Scout asked.

"We remembered that Mitch had said the first day they were here that they had both finished schooling, then worked for a bit before going to flight school." Hawk replied. "So last night we asked her what she went to school for. And her answer made us think she may have a spot on the team after all. If you three agree with us, that is."

"What is she trained as?" Tank asked.

"A medic." Jon said. "Pretty much the only thing she doesn't have experience doing is major surgeries. She says she could probably do them if she had someone to walk her through them, though. She can definitely do more than any of us are trained to do."

"We could use a medic." Pilot said. "It would be useful if one of us got hurt in battle."

"Yes." Hawk agreed. "We'd probably have to train her in combat, if we wanted her to come on missions, but her medical training would be most useful. And useful is something she wants to be. She came here to help fight the war, just like Mitch did."

"It would be nice to see what the sixth Power Suit looks like...and does..." Scout grinned.

"Shall we vote on it?" Jon asked. The team nodded. He continued. "So the question put to the team is, should we ask Katie to join us as our sixth member, and more importantly, as our medic?" He turned to Hawk.

"Yes." Hawk said. "I hope you didn't expect me to say anything else?"

"Nope." Jon laughed. He nodded at Tank.

"Yes."

"Scout?" Jon asked.

"Yes." Scout voted.

Finally, Jon turned to Pilot, who smiled before he could even say her name. "Yes." she said.

Jon smiled back. "And I vote yes as well. It's unanimous, as votes like this one should be."

That afternoon, Jon called another meeting, and this time invited Katie to join them. He knocked on her door.

"Hey."

"What's up?" Katie asked him.

"We're about to have a meeting, and I was wondering if you'd join us?"

Katie was surprised. "Sure...but aren't team meetings for the team...?"

"Yeah, but this one concerns you. C'mon."

"All right." Katie got up and walked with him down to the control room.

"We aren't going to beat around the bush." Jon said. "Hawk?"

Hawk nodded and addressed his daughter. "Jon and I were talking last night after you went to bed, and we discussed our thinking with the rest of the team this morning. We all agreed on what we felt was the best for the future of the team." 

"Okay..." Katie said. She had a feeling she knew what they were going to ask, and it was hard to keep from grinning.

"Would you join our team in your capacity as a medic, and occasional extra back-up pilot?" Jon asked. They decided he should do the official asking, since he was the Captain.

Now, Katie smiled. "Yes." She said, without hesitation.

"Woohoo!" Scout cheered. Katie laughed. That man was a real piece of work.

"I just have one question. Well, technically two, but they're related." Jon asked. "I assume your flight training was with the Canadian military...?"

Katie nodded. "Yes. Didn't you notice the uniform I was wearing when I got here?"

"Not really, I was too busy being shocked that you and Mitch were alive." Jon admitted. "So my other question is, what was...or is...your rank in the military?"

"Fair enough." Katie replied. "And in the eyes of the military, I am Private Katherine Masterson, but let me make it clear right now, the only person ever allowed to call me Katherine is him...and only if he's mad at me." She pointed to her dad.

"Not even me?" Jon joked.

"No! You weren't allowed when we were kids, and you aren't allowed now, unless it's in some kind of ceremony or promotion or something." Katie said firmly.

"Since we're talking about names..." Hawk said. "What should we call you? I mean besides Katie, of course."

Katie laughed. "The four of you each have a nickname that reflects your job on the team, or how your Power Suit enables you. You're called Hawk because your suit enables you to fly. Pilot's called Pilot because she flies the ship. Me? I'm a medic. I'll answer to that. Just don't call me doctor. I don't have my Phd."

"That works." Jon said. "Now...your Power Suit. You want to power on now? Later? It's up to you. Things have been pretty quiet on the Dread front the last while."

"Which means he's up to no good." Katie reminded him. "You know that better than I do. But...can I do it after supper? I admit I'm a little nervous."

"Sure."

The team understood her hesitation and nervousness regarding her Power Suit. There was a chance the activation of the suit could kill her, although it obviously hadn't happened to them.

That night after supper, Jon handed Katie the blue suit they all wore under their uniforms. It was the basis for her Power Suit and none of them knew what it was going look like or how would aid Katie's abilities as a medic.

Katie took the suit to her room and put it on. She stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself.

"Wow. Blue spandex? Really, Stuart? Well, whatever works, I guess!" she said to her reflection. She made a note to ask Mentor if he knew why the suits had been made the way they had. She took a deep breath, let it out and walked out of her room, to rejoin the rest of the team in the command center.

"On a scale of one to ten, my anxiety is currently hovering around 9.5." Katie joked as she entered the room.

"You don't have to do this..." Hawk reminded his daughter.

"Yes I do." Katie replied instantly. "The last thing you guys need is your freakin' medic out there in the field without any kind of armor or protection. I'd end up getting my ass handed to me and wind up being absolutely no use to you at all. But the idea that this could kill me is kind of unnerving, you know?"

"We all went through it. We know exactly how you feel." Scout said. "Well, except maybe Tank. He's never been afraid of anything."

"This is true." Tank chuckled. "But it still was a little unnerving for me as well."

"That didn't help." Katie laughed. "But thanks for trying. I'm just going to go ahead and do it because the more we talk about it, the less likely I am to do it tonight, and the longer it gets put off, the worse it'll be."

She stepped onto the machine and put her hands where Jon had told her to. She took another deep breath and let it out, not saying a word.

"Whenever you're ready." Jon prompted quietly.

Katie grinned. "I don't think I'm ever going to be ready for this." She replied. "If tonight is the night that this kills someone...that would be me...I love you all and hope that you kick Dread's butt and end this war." She paused and looked at her father. "Dad?"

Hawk raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"It would probably be better for you to not watch this. Just in case."

"Good point." Hawk nodded. He walked around to the other side of the console so he couldn't see Katie on the machine. Once he was done, Katie took another breath.

"Well...here goes nothing." She said, and closed her eyes. "Power on."

Powerful currents flooded through her body as her Power Suit activated for the first time and conformed itself to her body and her abilities. It was over in a matter of seconds, and the blue spandex suit was now equipped with armor, weapons and a helmet. Katie removed her hands from the machine and stood there, still not opening her eyes.

"Katie?" Hawk asked, coming back around.

Katie opened her eyes and blinked in surprise. She hadn't even realized there was a helmet on her head and a visor covering her eyes until she did so. "Whoa."

"You okay?" Pilot asked her.

Katie quickly assessed herself. "Yup. Little freaked out, but yeah. It's safe to say I'm okay." She reached up to touch the helmet and accidentally hit one of the buttons on the right hand side of it, activating part of the suits functions. Suddenly she was looking at team as if she was looking at their x-rays. "Oh man, now that is cool."

"What?" Tank asked.

"Well I guess I just hit a button..." She hit it again and they went back to normal. One more time showed her x-rays again. "Nice! Okay, so when I hit this button, it's like I'm looking at full body x-rays of you guys. So if we're out in battle or something, and something happens, I can quickly check for broken bones without having to physically check. I wonder...let me try something. Stay there." She got off the machine and backed away from them until she was as far as she could get in the room. Still saw x-rays.

"What are you trying to figure out?" Jon asked.

"How far away I can be and still use this function. This room isn't big enough." Katie replied. She hit the button again. "I'll have to figure it out later. That's kind of important information."

"I wonder what else the suit will enable you to do...?" Hawk was curious.

"I don't know." Katie said. "Maybe not a whole lot more. I mean, I'm a medic. I'm not sure how much help the suit can be, other than to provide me with some protection when I'm trying to do my job." She powered down the suit and grinned. "Well. Six out of six people have successfully activated a Power Suit and not died. I'd say your dad did good, Jon."

"Yeah, he sure did."

That night, as Katie was getting ready for bed, she saw Pilot go past her room and called out to her.

"Pilot!"

The younger woman stopped and poked her head into Katie's room. "Yeah?"

"Come in here for a minute, would you?" Katie asked.

"Sure." Pilot entered the room and sat down on the chair. "What's up?"

Katie was thoughtful. "I've been thinking, and I wanted to tell you I think it took a lot of guts for you to tell me about your past when you barely knew me and didn't know how I'd react. I'm not sure I would have been able to do that, if I was in your position."

Pilot blushed awkwardly and looked down for a moment before she spoke in response. "I can tell the guys anything." She began. "And Hawk is like a father to me...he's probably helped me the most since they found me than anyone else. I took a risk that you would be like him."

Katie nodded. "Yeah...I'm stubborn like him anyway!" she laughed. Then she got serious again. "But, something else I've been thinking about...do you think there are others? I mean, kids in Volcania who have found out the truth but who haven't found a way to leave yet?"

Pilot sighed. "I know of at least one...her name is Erin. I know she knows, at least partially, because I'm the one who told her."

"Really?" Katie was intrigued.

"Yeah. A few weeks ago, we needed to get a vaccine to stop an epidemic from wiping out what's left of the people out here. The only place the vaccine could be found was in Volcania. So I put on my old uniform and snuck in and stole the vaccine. While I was there, I ran into Erin, and had a bit of a fight with her. I won...and I told her some things while I was doing what I needed to do. As I was leaving, she got herself untied and followed me. She had the opportunity to kill me...which would have made her a hero to them, as I'm a traitor to their cause...but she didn't. I'd like to think that she's remembering what I told her and that maybe someday she'll find a way to get out."

"You think she's told anyone else?"

Pilot shook her head, her blond ponytail swinging behind her. "No. Too risky. If she told the wrong person, it would go back to Dread faster than you could imagine and she'd be killed."

"Yeah...that makes sense." Katie sighed.

"You're...?"

"I'm thinking you can't be the only one. And neither can she. People aren't stupid, and Dread isn't really a machine. Others had to have seen the things that made you realize what Dread has been saying is wrong, even if they choose to stay and pretend they didn't."

Pilot shrugged. "People aren't stupid, no, but fear can be hard to overcome. It took me quite awhile after learning the truth to actually put a plan together and pull it off. And I was completely terrified that I'd be found out. I know what happens when a person gets digitized, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, except maybe for Dread himself, but he'd probably enjoy it."

"Maybe, maybe not." Katie chuckled. "I'm kind of wondering if we're not in over our heads..."

"If we are, we fight the good fight and go down guns blazing." Hawk interrupted from the doorway. Neither of the girls had known he was there, but he had been listening for a couple of moments.

Both girls looked at him, startled. He laughed, and leaned on the doorjamb. "We're doing a good thing...the right thing. No matter what happens, we can be proud of ourselves for that."

"Yeah." Katie agreed.

Hawk looked at his daughter. "You should stop talking and get some sleep. You're relieving Tank in a few hours, remember."

"Yeah, you're right." Katie nodded. They had decided earlier that there was no reason why she shouldn't start taking her turn on the night watch immediately, and was taking second shift that very night. "Good night, you guys."

Pilot followed Hawk out of the room. "Night." Both said, as they left.

Five hours later, at exactly 2 am, Katie groggily made her way into the control room, where Tank was sitting. She blinked a few times and grumbled. "I think I'd prefer first shift over second..."

"Yup." Tank nodded. "Coffee helps."

"I don't drink coffee, you know that." Katie reminded him. It had been quite the discussion in the first day she and Mitch were there, when the team found out that Katie didn't drink coffee.

"You'll start." Tank chuckled. He stood up and stretched.

"Quiet so far?"

"Yeah. It usually is. There's only a few nights that something actually happens."

"With my luck..." Katie grinned. "Tonight will be one of those nights."

Tank shrugged. "Doubt it. Have a good night."

"You too, Tank." Katie replied, plopping herself down in the chair he recently vacated.

Fifteen minutes later, Katie was trying coffee. She poured herself a cup, put in some milk and sugar and tried it. "Blech! How on earth do people drink this stuff?" she asked no one in particular.

Mentor heard her and appeared on his screen. "I believe it is what they call an acquired taste."

Katie laughed. "Well it's a taste this girl won't be acquiring any time soon. But how on earth am I going to stay awake?"

"When Pilot first started, she used the time to ask me things...to learn the things she didn't know. Which was, well, everything, more or less." Mentor told her. "The others will talk to me occasionally, or read, or play some music."

"Music doesn't wake everybody else up?"

"No."

"Hmm. I may have to look into that." Katie looked at Mentor thoughtfully. "It's so weird..."

"That I resemble Dr. Power?"

"Yeah. How often did Dad and Jon slip and call you the wrong thing?"

Mentor smiled. "Frequently. But Dr. Power knew that would happen. He made me in his image so that they would never be without him, on a certain level. And now that applies to you, as well."

Katie nodded. "Yeah, I guess it does." She sighed and focused on the monitors again. "Please let this night be uneventful..." she whispered.


	5. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Over the next couple of weeks, the team focused on getting Katie some combat training. She proved to be a quick learner, and soon they decided she was ready to go in the field with them, when the time came. Her main focus would be staying out of sight as much as possible, and only really fighting when necessary, but she needed to know how to react in any given situation. Just in case.

"Next big mission, we'll take you with us." Jon told her. "I think you're ready, and so do the others."

Katie grinned. "Glad you think so. Personally, I'd rather stay hidden and not come out unless someone gets hurt."

"That would be ideal, and we'll try to keep it that way. But at least now you have the training to deal with combat if you need to." Jon replied. "And honestly, you'll need to. I'm not going to lie about that."

"It's a war. I know." Katie nodded. "I think I'll be okay when the time comes."

"I know you will be."

The next morning, Jon and Pilot went out on a routine patrol in the desert. Katie took the opportunity to ask the others a question that had been on her mind for most of the time she'd been there.

"So...what's their deal?"

"What do you mean?" Tank asked her, hiding a smile. He knew exactly what she meant, as did Hawk and Scout.

"Oh come on. You three are not blind. You can't tell me you have no idea?"

Hawk grinned at his observant daughter. "Are they attracted to each other? Damn straight they are. But."

"But what?"

"But Pilot has no sweet clue what she's feeling and why, and the Captain's...the captain." Scout replied.

"What does that mean?" Katie asked. Then she realized the meaning of what Scout had said. "Wait. You mean that even if he falls madly in love with her, he'll never act on it, just because he's the guy in charge?"

"You got it, Pontiac." Scout laughed.

Katie rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Of all the..." She muttered. Then she sighed. "I get his reasoning. But someday he's gotta realize that some things are a gift that not too many people get to experience these days..." She sighed again, excused herself and went to her room, her demeanor subdued.

Hawk followed his daughter after a few moments. He found her laying on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

"You miss him a lot." he commented from the doorway.

Katie glanced at her dad. "When I think about him, yeah." she admitted. "I try not to do that very often...I mean it's not like I can pick up a telephone and call him. I know he's okay...his brother died fighting for the resistance, so his parents won't let him come down here to fight."

"Would he go against their wishes?" Hawk asked, moving in and sitting on the chair.

"No. He respects them and their wishes enough to never mention his desire to come fight, or what happened to his brother, until the night we graduated. It was a shock."

"I can imagine." Hawk nodded. "Well, if you know he's okay, you'll see him again someday. And who knows what may happen then, right?"

"Right." Katie agreed. "Hey, I'm going to take a nap. I didn't sleep well last night, and I'm on first shift tonight."

"Sure."

Two hours later, refreshed, Katie rejoined the team. "Aren't they back yet?"

"No." Hawk replied. He sounded tense. "We're a little concerned. We can't contact them."

"What should we do?"

"Wait. For now." Tank said.

The team stayed in the control room, keeping an eye on the computers, waiting to hear from their teammates. Several more hours went by.

"It's going to get dark soon..." Scout commented to no one in particular.

"I know." Hawk said. "I think we-"

"Hey, you guys there?" Pilot's voice came over the speakers, interrupting Hawk.

The entire team breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, go ahead, Pilot. Where on earth have you been?"

"It's a long story. The captain's got a hurt leg that needs attention." Pilot told them.

Katie got to her feet. "I'll meet you in the medlab."

Katie was waiting for them when they arrived in the medlab. The first thing she heard, before she saw anybody, was Jon.

"It's really not that bad..."

"You couldn't walk." Pilot retorted.

Katie chuckled as they walked into the room. Pilot and Hawk were helping Jon, who was obviously limping. Tank and Scout followed behind. "You won't win this one, Jon. Sit." She gestured to the bed. "Let me take a look at that leg of yours."

Jon rolled his eyes but did as he was told. Katie looked at the bandages that Pilot had put on his leg and smiled at the younger woman. "You do that?"

Pilot nodded shyly. "Yeah...it's not perfect..."

Katie grinned. "So? If it keeps the dirt out, it makes my job easier. And it looks pretty good to me." She removed the bandage and assessed the large gash on Jon's leg. "Good lord...how on earth did THIS happen?"

"Soaron." Jon replied.

Katie groaned. "Of course. That would explain a lot." She quickly got to work cleaning up the injury and stitching it up. Then she put a clean bandage on it and looked at him with a sigh. "So, d'you think you could stay off that as much as possible for the next 48 hours?"

"But if I can walk..." Jon started.

Katie shot him a look and crossed her arms. "The stitches will not be able to do their job properly if you walk on it. And if they can't do their job, I will have to re-stitch, and if I have to re-stitch you will not like me because I will tie you to this bed until I'm satisfied your leg is healed."

Amid chuckles from the rest of the team, Jon sighed. She was right. He wasn't going to win. And he had to set an example for the team. If Medic said he had to stay off his leg, then he had to stay off his leg. How could they expect the others to listen to her if he didn't? "All right. Tank? Could you help me to my room please? I'm going to get some rest before second shift..." he looked back at Katie. "Or do you not want me to...?"

Katie grinned. "I just don't want you bearing weight on that leg very much in the next two days. Do your job. Just do it sitting down, preferably with that leg elevated somehow."

"Yes ma'am." Jon grinned, and Tank helped him out of the room.

"Y'know, if you were anyone else...he probably wouldn't listen." Hawk chuckled.

"He doesn't want to listen." Katie grinned again. "But he knows he has to. He's the Captain. He has to lead by example, even if it means doing something he doesn't want to do. Besides, you all may out-rank me by military standards, but when it comes to your health and well-being, what I say goes."

About a month later, it was the anniversary of the death of Stuart Power. Katie was sitting with her dad in the control room when Jon joined them.

"I'm going." he said.

"I know." Hawk replied. "Every year like clockwork." He paused. "You want some company?"

"No, thanks." Jon replied, and after a bit more small talk, he left, just as Pilot came down the stairs.

"Where does he go?" she asked.

"Back." Hawk told her.

Pilot gave him a confused look, so he elaborated. "Fifteen years ago today, his father was killed. He's going to visit his grave. He does it every year."

"Oh."

"Hard to believe it's been fifteen years..." Katie said softly. It was also fifteen years since her mom had died saving her and Mitch from the troopers. That particular anniversary had been a hard one for Katie to get through, but she had found it comforting to know she had her dad to talk to on that day. Mitch had called, as well, for a brief chat. It had been nice to hear from her brother for the first real time since he had joined Andy Jackson's team. He was thriving and seemed happy, and was thrilled that Katie had officially joined the Power Team.

"You got that right." Hawk chuckled. Seems like it's been a lot less than that."

"Isn't it risky, for him to go by himself? I mean...Dread..." Pilot wondered aloud.

Hawk sighed. "If there is any part of Lyman Taggart left in Dread's mind...no, it's not risky. Taggart and Stuart were good friends, they did a lot together, and I'm not sure, even though I wasn't there until the end, it was Taggart's fault that Stuart died. I think they fought, yes, and I think that set certain things into motion that led to Stuart being killed, but do I think Taggart was entirely to blame? No. He's to blame for a lot of things, a lot of death and a lot of devastation, it's true. But the death of Stuart? I don't think he is."

"So maybe he spends today reminiscing about the past as well...?" Pilot asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not. I'm not about to ask him." Hawk grinned. "Are you?"

"Nope."

About an hour later, while Katie was alone in the control room, a sound beeped on the computer. She looked up from the book she was reading and glanced at the screen. Seeing a flashing icon, she clicked on it and a message popped up.

"I need to talk to you. In person. As soon as possible. Can you send someone to pick me up? -Cypher"

Katie had heard her dad and Jon mention a guy named Cypher before, but she didn't know who he was or why he suddenly had to talk to them. She frowned. She hadn't been there long, but knew taking someone to the base was generally forbidden. She left the message on the screen and looked up.

"Mentor?"

"Yes, Katie?" Mentor replied, appearing before her.

"Where is my dad right now?"

Mentor did a quick scan. "Hawk is in the training room with Tank. I believe they are working out."

"Okay, thanks."

Katie got up and, leaving the message on the screen, she went to the training room, where she did, indeed, find her father and Tank exercising.

"Sorry to interrupt you guys, but..."

Hawk noticed the look on Katie's face and they both heard the expression in her voice. She sounded concerned.

"What is it?" Hawk asked her.

"We just got a message that I think you should see, since Jon's not back yet."

Both men stopped what they were doing and followed Katie back to the control room, where she showed them Cypher's message.

"What is this about?" Tank wondered.

"No idea. It sounds serious. Jon will know what to do." Hawk said. "And he should be back soon."

Sure enough, a little over an hour later, Jon returned to the base. He found his entire team in the control room.

"Did I miss anything?"

"Yeah. That." Tank said, pointing at the screen.

Jon read it and frowned. "It must be important if he's risking sending a message like this."

"So..." Scout said.

"So I think we need to find out what's going on." Jon replied. "Pilot, Tank and Scout, take the Jumpship and go get him. I'll find out where he is. Make sure he's blindfolded. He must not find out the location of this base. I trust him enough to bring him here, but not enough to let him know anything else."

The team got ready, and Jon sent a message to Cypher, who replied with his co-ordinates. They left to rendezvous with him, and returned a couple hours later.

They walked him into the control room, where Jon, Hawk and Katie were waiting. Katie, as the newest member of the team, kept a backseat and watched the team with the stranger.

"Alright you can take off the blindfold." Jon said. Hawk moved over and removed the blindfold off the older man's eyes.

"Welcome to Power Base, Cypher." Hawk said with a smile. Cypher looked around.

"Nice...I can see why you keep the location of this place secret. If Dread ever got his hands on all this stuff..."

"The nickle tour comes later." Jon said, arms crossed in front of his chest. "You said you had something vital to discuss. Something so important, you couldn't even trust the security at your own base."

Scout continued, spinning a chair around. "And now that you're here, what d'you say we cut to the chase, hmm?"

"Eden II. You've heard of it?" Cypher asked.

"We've all heard of Eden II." Pilot replied as Cypher sat down. "It's a legend. A myth." She looked at Hawk, who continued.

"The world's a pretty sad place to live, so people are looking for something better. Poof. Eden II.

"If there were such a place, Dread would have found it by now, and flattened it." Tank commented.

Cypher got up and faced Tank. "It's real, alright. Real as you." He sat back down.

"Alright, let's say it is real. What's it got to do with us?" Jon asked.

Cypher told them of a secret underground railroad being used to transport people from different places around the continent to Eden II. So secret they couldn't even tell the Power Team about it, even though they were the leaders of the resistance. He detailed the escape route's five segments and how no one new the full route, just in case Dread found out about it. The team listened. Finally, Cypher got to the point.

"Segment three, right in the center, was shut down last week." He held out a disk. "Permanently."

Jon took the disk and walked over to the computer and inserted the disk into the drive. The team followed him to watch what came up on the screen as Cypher continued talking. Images of troopers destroying the area filled the screen.

"Dread forces attacked. I don't think they even knew what it was, only that it was a resistance operation. But with that part of the route shut down, we have to set up a new one. We got word to Eden II, set up a rendezvous with one of their couriers. We need you to meet him."

"Well now, wait a minute." Hawk piped up as they stopped watching the video and Cypher stopped talking. Cypher stood.

"They insisted on you, Captain." Cypher said. "You're known to them. They don't trust anyone else. Besides, they've picked a place no one would suspect. A place that nobody but you and your team could enter...and survive."

Jon took the disk out of the computer and the team walked back over to Cypher. "Have you ever seen this contact from Eden II?"

"Nope." Cypher replied. "We did it through a special comm-link."

"Have you ever been to Eden II?" Jon pressed.

"If I had, I wouldn't be here." Cypher said. "I mean, no one comes back from Eden II. No one wants to."

The team looked at him. Most of them had their arms folded.

"They said you might not believe me." Cypher continued, reaching into his pocket. "So they gave me this." He pulled something out and looked at Hawk. "Said I should give it to you."

Hawk took the piece of cloth and opened it up.

"What is it?" Tank asked.

"War Dog insignia." Hawk replied, looking at it. "Must have come from one of Vi's units."

Pilot noticed something. "Hawk, there's writing on the back. She took it and turned it over, then handed it back to him.

"Dear Matt: We made it. Vi." Hawk read. He took a breath. "It's her handwriting, Captain."

Jon turned and shook Cypher's hand. "Cypher, you just bought a railroad."

After securely getting Cypher away from the base, the team took the night to think about what they were about to do, and where they were about to go.

"What is Darktown, anyway?" Katie asked. She had never heard of such a place, but it didn't sound fun.

"It's an area that was destroyed in the metal wars...had extensive proton bombing that left the area unlivable." Scout told her.

Jon picked up the explanation. "The environment was changed because of the bombing. No one can survive being there, even brief periods of exposure can effect people."

"And yet, we're going there..." Katie commented.

"Our suits will help, but we can't stay long." Jon said. "Our best hope is to find this Eden II contact, get the information and get out before any damage is done, and before the troopers spot us."

Once there, the team had an hour before their suits would stop protecting them. They spread out a bit, and Jon and Scout went ahead. Jon had spotted a Dread information station, and sent Scout, who could hologram himself into a trooper, to find the safest route to the contact area. It was a risky move, because Scout's hologram would be unsteady in Darktown's environment.

Sure enough, before he'd gotten too far, his hologram started to fail. Jon warned him and they fought off the troopers who had noticed. Scout got the information he needed and they headed out to meet the contact.

Rogue troopers met them at every turn, but they kept going. The acid was eating away at everything, and they were running out of time. At one point, one of the troopers grabbed Pilot, who promptly blasted him.

"You okay, Pilot?" Jon asked.

"Yeah. If there's one thing I hate, it's a grabby robot." Pilot replied, and the team proceeded.

They eventually entered a room and met a man who called himself John. He likened Eden II to the legend of Shangri-la. And when Hawk asked him, he confirmed he knew Vi. Before he could, or would give them more information besides what they had come for (the ability to create a new link in the underground railroad), troopers blasted into the room. Before he parted, John tossed Jon a box. The captain sent Hawk after him, but Hawk couldn't find him.

The team battled the troopers Jon sent the team, except for Tank, back to the ship when he noticed Blastarr. They were able to easily beat him, because the acid fog was damaging him. He wasn't able to withstand it like Soaron could. He was so out of control he started shooting the troopers, giving the team a chance to escape.

Back at the base, they opened the box and found a wonderful sight: an orange. It was something none of them except for Katie had seen in years. Jon peeled it and the team shared it.

"It's real." Pilot said.

"Forget hydroponics!" Hawk exclaimed. "This was grown in the earth. I can tell. Good clean soil."

"Eden II is real. It has to be." Jon said.

"Now it's just a matter of, you know, finding it." Katie remarked.


	6. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

"Well, that was exciting..." Katie shook her head. The team had just gotten back to the base after what was supposed to be a meeting of the resistance leaders from around the country, set up by Freedom One, the so-called "voice of the resistance". Turns out, Freedom One was actually a Dread Overunit who had managed to lead them all to believe she was one of the good guys. Had they figured it out two minutes later, the meeting would have turned out much differently.

"Never a dull moment, that's for sure." Scout chuckled.

Katie looked at Pilot. "Medlab. Now."

"But..." Pilot protested lightly.

"Uh-uh." Katie said sternly. "You were attacked by Blastarr, got hit saving what's-his-name's life and had a wall of large bricks fall on you. You may look fine, but let me determine if you actually are. Move it."

"She's ruthless..." Scout whispered in an aside to the other men as Katie and Pilot left to go to the medlab.

"She's doing her job." Jon replied. "Little things can add up, and we need to be at one hundred percent to fight Dread successfully. She knows that."

In the medlab, Pilot sat on the bed and took her right boot off. She had injured her ankle. Katie grinned as she waited. "Sorry...I kind of take my job a little too seriously."

Pilot was serious. "You should take it seriously."

Katie nodded. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. How's the ankle?"

"Sore."

"Head?"

"Sore."

"Figured. I already did a quick scan when we were out at the meeting place. Nothing's broken, which is a good thing." Katie replied, as she examined Pilot's ankle. She moved it a certain way. "This hurt?"

Pilot winced. "Yeah."

"And this?" Katie moved it again.

"Not as much." Pilot replied.

"Okay. Slight sprain." She wrapped the ankle and let Pilot put her boot back on.

"Can I walk on it?" Pilot asked.

"Yes as long as it doesn't hurt you too bad to do it. I'd prefer you stay off it for a bit, to let it heal, but I have a feeling things are just ramping up, so that may not be an option." Katie replied. "Now..." She pulled out a small light and shined it in Pilot's eyes.

"Ow hey!" Pilot protested.

"Sorry. Checking for a concussion."

"By shining a light in my eyes?"

"Yup. If your pupils dilate as they normally would to the light, you don't have a concussion. If they didn't dilate, then I'd be worried."

"So..."

"So you're fine. Thanks to having a helmet. Headache is probably from the impact of everything. Couple of painkillers and a decent night of sleep should fix that up." She handed Pilot a couple of small pills.

"Thanks."

"No prob. Hey, listen. I noticed something." Katie said as Pilot got off the bed.

"Yeah?"

"That Freedom One person. She had blond hair and blue eyes. Is that...?"

"What all girls in Volcania look like?" Pilot finished with a grin. "Yup."

"Really? Wow. I mean on the one hand, I'm kind of like, yay, I'm not his type! But on the other hand...that's kind of weird." Katie laughed.

"His idea of perfect, I guess." Pilot said.

"Yeah. Well, have a good night. Hopefully things will be quiet for the next little while."

"Me too, but I think you're right. Things are probably just getting started." Pilot replied, before leaving the medlab.

Katie went back to the control room. Everyone was gone except for Jon.

"She okay?"

"Yup. Headache and a bit of a sprained ankle. Nothing painkillers and some rest won't heal up." She sat down and sighed. "It's really hard to trust anybody, isn't it."

"Yeah. Seems even more evident now. The entire resistance trusted Freedom One. No one had any idea she was really an Overunit working for Dread, trying to get us all together so they could ambush us."

"Makes me wonder what's going to happen next." Katie pondered. "I have a feeling, whatever it is, it's going to be big."

Jon frowned. "I hate to admit it, but I think you're right. I just hope it's not more than we can handle."

"Me too." Katie replied. "It's getting close to Christmas, too. Not that he'd care about that, but..."

"A bit of peace on Christmas would be nice."

"Agreed." Katie said. "Well, I'm off to bed. I know you and Dad are on watch tonight, so have a good one."

"You too, Katie. Goodnight." Jon replied. He watched her leave and then settled in front of the computer with a cup of coffee. It had been a long day, and he knew it was going to be a long night, as well.

The end of November found the team looking for information on Project New Order. Jon and Scout went to meet up with Locke, an informant who had the information they were seeking. Before they could strike a deal with him for the information, they were interrupted by Soaron and Blastarr, who were after Locke. They escaped with Locke after badly injuring both Bio-Dreads, and returned to the Power Base.

With the disk they got from Locke, they discovered that the Icarus phase of Project New Order, a satellite containing a large digitizer orbiting Earth, was complete and expected to begin digitizing humans on a mass scale that very day, starting with the eastern seaboard of the United States.

"That's less than two hours from now." Pilot said, after looking at her watch, when Mentor gave them the time for when Icarus was set to begin.

Mentor also told them, based on what was on the disk, that the next phase, Prometheus, was set to begin as well.

"What's it's purpose?" Jon asked.

"Controlled ignition of plasma energy stations by broadcast power signal. Result: plasma storm covering the entire seaboard." Mentor replied.

"My god, he'll burn everything." Hawk reacted.

"New Order. Dread's perfect world rising on the ruins of the old." Jon commented.

"Can we stop it?" Tank questioned. It was the thought they all had.

"I don't know." Jon admitted. "But we've gotta try. Scout, get on the comm-link. Alert Freedom Two and the east coast resistance to what's happening. Pilot, you prep the Jumpship. Tank, Hawk, you load all our heavy weaponry on board. Medic, do the same with enough medical supplies to help if things go wrong. There are a lot of people there. I'll study the data on Icarus and Prometheus and try to come up with a plan. We don't have much time, so move it."

"Right, Captain." Tank replied, and everyone moved to quickly perform their assigned tasks.

The team reported back to Jon a short while later, having completed their jobs. The ship was ready to go, and so were they.

"Alright, we've got two objectives. First, Icarus control." Jon gestured to a picture on the computer screen. "Now, to breech it," he pushed a button. "We'll have to fly down this entrenchment and blow the doors using a proton missile. Pilot, that's your job."

Pilot was solemn. "Mh. Sounds like fun." She said stiffly.

"Once inside we'll have about five minutes to blow the Icarus platform, so that we can proceed to our second objective." Jon hit another button. "Volcania."

"Dread's main teepee?" Scout said.

"Now that's my kind of fight." Tank said.

Hawk didn't look impressed. "You gotta be kidding, Jon."

Pilot's expression matched Hawk's. "Hawk's right. I know that place, Captain. An attack like that's gonna be suicide."

Katie kept quiet. She tended to agree more with her dad and Pilot, and would say so if Jon asked her for her opinion, but she preferred to let them decide what they were going to do. It was her job to make sure they made it out alive.

"Not if we pull off the first mission." Jon said. "And if we don't, we'll all probably be dead anyway."

"Are we going to have any help? Any back up?" Hawk asked.

"Negative." Jon replied. "We're the only group who can possibly get to these two objectives in time. There's no other way."

"So what are we waiting for?" Tank said with a chuckle. "Let's all go boldly where no man has gone before."

Scout laughed and flipped open his communicator. "Beam me up, Scotty. There's no intelligent life here." Tank flipped the communicator shut and the entire team laughed.

Pilot spent some time going through a simulation of what she was about to do, while the rest of the team got ready. Soon, they were on their way and with the help of the warp gates, they were closing in on their first destination quickly.

They were soon intercepted by Soaron, who attacked. Hawk flew out to engage him one-on-one to give the team time to get through. The plan was for the rest of the team to go out and join Hawk on skybikes, to give Pilot cover while she completed her part of the mission. It was going to be the first time Katie had gone into battle.

"You ready for this?" Jon asked her.

"If I said no, would it matter?" Katie grinned.

"Nope. But you'll do fine." Jon replied.

They suited up and flew out of the Jumpship on their skybikes, moving to help Hawk and keep Pilot from going down. It was a hairy fight, but they did their job and Pilot was successful in blasting the door of the Icarus control. Katie stuck near the Jumpship at first, and watched as Soaron blasted her father out of the sky. It took everything in her power not to yell out to him, but she knew she had to trust that he was ok, at least for now.

And he was, he fired a missile at Soaron, incapacitating the Bio-Dread. Satisfied for the moment, Katie quickly joined up with Jon, Tank and Scout, while Pilot flew to meet Hawk at the rendezvous point.

They blasted their way inside, shooting at troopers the whole time. Katie found she didn't really have time to think, she just reacted and fought, blasting as many troopers as she could. It wasn't long before they got into the main control room of Icarus, and with mere seconds to go before it began digitizing the entire eastern seaboard, Scout stopped it and blew it up, sending it as a fiery ball towards Volcania.

Back on the Jumpship, on the way to Volcania, Katie addressed the team as a whole. "Is everyone okay?"

"Bumps and bruises are all in a day's work for us." Scout grinned.

"I'll trust that you aren't lying to me, because we're in the middle of a mission." Katie deadpanned. "But if you are..."

"I think by now we all know better, Medic." Tank chuckled.

"I should hope so. So what now? We go to Volcania and knock on the door?"

"We may not need to." Jon replied. "As long as Icarus does what we intend it to, we won't have to."

Moments later, they warped into view of Volcania and saw the huge gaping, smoking hole in the side. It looked promising, but after consulting with Mentor, they discovered that Prometheus was still active. They were going to have to go in. Under orders, Pilot landed the ship and they powered up. Hawk's suit immediately warned him to charge his suit.

"Hawk?" Jon asked, concerned. Katie's expression mirrored the captain's, but she said nothing.

"I'm okay, I just took a few dents in that last fight with Soaron. I'm still over fifty percent."

"Don't worry about Hawk, Captain." Tank said. "He'll be standing behind me like he always does."

"Just make sure you don't fall on me, like you always do." Hawk retorted. The team chuckled and headed out of the ship. They camouflaged the ship, so no one would find it.

"All right." Jon said. "Now once inside, you stay sharp and you keep moving. We don't have a lot of time, so no stops, no matter what happens, is that understood?"

The team nodded and voiced their agreement. They were all more than a bit nervous about what they were about to do, but they didn't have much choice.

"All right. Let's do it." Jon said, and they moved into Volcania.

The explosion had disrupted the systems of the troopers, so while they were all over the place, they weren't coming after the team. Pilot warned that they'd still come after the team if spotted, so they had to be quick. They blasted their way into a room and with Pilot's help, figured out where they needed to go to attempt to stop Prometheus. They were intercepted by an Overunit who sent troopers after them. They made quick work of them and Jon sent Hawk after the Overunit, who had quickly gone to alert Dread of their presence.

Hawk fought with the Overunit and a trooper, and depleted the rest of his powersuit. When the team caught up to him, Tank made quick work of the Overunit.

"Hawk!" Jon exclaimed as they helped Hawk to sitting.

"I guess my suit monitor malfunctioned." Hawk said, pained.

Katie did a quick scan of her father. Nothing broken, thank goodness. She moved to attend him, wondering what was going to happen next.

"No stops, Captain, remember?" Hawk said breathlessly. "There's a lot of people's lives on the line."

Jon looked at Tank. "Tank. Can you get him back to the ship?"

"I'd like to see anyone try and stop me." Tank replied.

"No, Jon, you need Tank's firepower." Hawk protested as they helped him to his feet. Katie silently agreed.

Jon looked at her, for the first time asking her for her opinion. "Medic? What do you think?"

Katie was torn. She desperately wanted to let Tank stay in the fight and take her dad back to the ship herself, but at the same time...what if they needed her, what if one of them got hurt worse than her dad was and she wasn't there? It was a risk she couldn't take.

"There's nothing broken, and no injuries that can't wait, as far as I can tell." She replied after what seemed like forever but was really only seconds. She looked at Tank. "Take him back to the ship."

"You sure?" Tank asked. They all knew how close Katie and Hawk were, and he knew it must be really paining her to be doing this.

"Yes." Katie said tightly.

"Take good care of him." Jon said to Tank. Then he looked at the team. "Let's go!"

The team moved further into Volcania, and were intercepted by Blastarr. They tried to blast him with explosives, but that didn't buy them a lot of time. They managed to get into another room, and Pilot rigged some wires to electrocute Blastarr when he moved towards them. It worked, and Blastarr was taken out, at least temporarily.

They blasted into the corridor leading to Dread's command room. "Alright, our priority is Prometheus, but if you can get a shot a Dread, take it." Jon commanded.

They moved in and came face to face with Dread. Katie couldn't believe that this half-man half-machine was once Lyman Taggart, the scientist she knew as a child.

"You're through, Taggart. You and your whole ugly New Order." Jon said. "Scout."

Scout moved and closed the door behind them. It was four-on-one, or two if they had realized that Dread's other Bio-Dread, Lakki, was there.

"You've come far, boy. Too far." Dread replied to Jon.

In seconds, shots were fired. Both Scout and Pilot were taken out by them. Katie quickly ducked to check on them and assess their injuries, while Jon tackled Dread. Neither of them was sure why he didn't attack Katie as well, but he didn't. It was almost as if he didn't know Katie was there. And in reality, he may not have. Katie had discovered a feature of her Power Suit that aided her immensely in this situation: the ability to become invisible. It became obvious that Dread couldn't see her, and Jon, although he knew she was there, couldn't see her either.

"Keep him busy, Johnny." She whispered into her communicator so only he would hear her. "They'll be fine."

"All is as it should be, Captain. Just you and I alone, while Prometheus raises the land for the New Order."

"That's right Taggart." Jon replied. He had to keep the ruse going that they were alone when they really weren't. "Just you and me. What d'you say we finish it?"

"I am not Taggart! I am Dread!" Dread replied, raising a large gun to shoot Jon. Jon noticed and shot his hand, causing him to drop the gun in pain.

"Time to pay." Jon said. He moved his gun to shoot at Dread again and was fired on by Lakki.

"Not yet." Lakki said.

Jon turned, distracted, and Dread moved in to fight him. They fought, giving Katie time to bring Scout to so he could continue the mission to destroy Prometheus. Once Dread realized that Scout had gotten into the systems and put them on manual, he disappeared, but not before knocking Jon around for a bit. With him gone, Katie unshielded herself and finished getting Pilot to her feet, while Scout successfully destroyed Prometheus. It wasn't long before Overmind tried to figure out what had happened, however, so they quickly made their escape.

Back on the Jumpship, Katie patched her father up as they headed for home. Jon looked at her.

"How...?"

"Figured that out awhile ago." Katie grinned. "It's another feature of my suit, I guess. Definitely came in handy today."

"What happened?" Tank asked.

Jon chuckled. "Why don't you show them? Since I'm pretty sure the only ones who actually know are me and Scout at this point."

Katie stopped wrapping her dad's wrist and activated her Power Suit. Then she pushed a button and instantly became invisible. "I'm still here. But unless you knew it beforehand, you'd never know, unless you walked into me." She pushed the button again and powered down her suit. "The whole time we were in there, Dread did not know I was there. Therefore, I was able to get Scout back up on his feet while Jon fought Dread, so we could complete the mission."

"That's cool." Hawk was impressed. The rest of the team nodded in agreement.

"Pilot, take us home." Jon said, before making a log entry to Mentor about the major victory they had just scored against Dread.


	7. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Three weeks later, all hell broke loose. The team found themselves stretched to the limit, criss-crossing the country using their warp-gate to fight Dread's forces and try to save as many people as they could, by bringing them to the Passages. They were unhappy to learn that both Soaron and Blastarr had been fixed, and were just as deadly...and annoying...as ever.

During one battle, they severely injured Blastarr...again...and warped away to safety. Little did they know that he saw them use the warp gate, something none of Dread's forces had ever witnessed until that point.

"This is crazy..." Katie commented. "If he doesn't knock it off, I'm going to run out of medical supplies."

"I know." Jon told her. "So will the Passages. But it can't be helped. He's on a rampage and we have to try to cut him off whenever possible."

"Thank God for the gates, or we'd never be able to do what we're doing." Hawk said.

"It's the only way we're managing." Jon admitted.

Soon, it was Christmas Eve and they made their own makeshift Christmas tree, before heading out for a patrol in the Jumpship. They were attacked, but never saw who hit them. It was Soaron, who had made himself invisible, to avoid them noticing him. They jumped into the warp gate, which enabled Soaron the chance to get the control sequence for the gate. He let them escape, on Dread's orders, because he was just after that information.

The next day, they got word from Locke that he had crucial Dread information for them, so they went to meet him with him.

"What do you have for us?" Jon asked, as the team approached him.

Locke nodded and handed him a disk. "Troop movements, numbers, distribution of weapons, supply schedules, the works. The d-base for the entire Dread military. And something else you should know. The name Cypher mean anything to you?"

They looked at each other. Jon replied, "Head of Angel City resistance. Why?"

"Dread's got him." Locke replied. "They've taken him by convoy through sector 9 grid 3."

"When are they moving him?" Jon asked.

"Like right now." Locke said. "He's got one hour before they get to the transfer point. After that, even an army couldn't get him out."

"Captain, if that information about troop strengths is current, it could help get Cypher out in one piece." Pilot said.

"You sure this stuff is solid?" Scout asked Locke.

Before Locke could answer, a trooper shot at them.

"Does that answer your question?" Locke asked, as the trooper kept firing. They got out of the way, but more troopers moved in and engaged them in battle. Once they were done, Locke told them to take off and get Cypher, so they did. Little did they know, Locke was working for Dread, albeit reluctantly. Dread had Blastarr and troopers waiting to get through the warp gate in a ship of their own.

Pilot and Katie were back at the base, analyzing the disk, while the rest of the team went out to see about getting to Cypher. They realized, too late, that it was a trap, and after being hit enough times to take out most of their systems, they watched, helplessly, as the ship went through the warp gate, heading right to the Power Base.

Once the Jumpship landed, Jon put a call through to the girls, who by this time, already knew what was going on. Mentor had told them there were sixteen troopers and one Bio-Dread in the base, spreading out. They didn't have much time.

"Do you read me? Pilot? Medic?"

"We're reading you, Captain." Pilot answered. Katie remained silent by her side. "We've got big trouble. We're under attack. I repeat, we are under attack. There's a least one Bio-Dread and a whole squadron of troopers. They've penetrated the defences, Jon, they're inside."

"All right." Jon said. "You don't have much time. Set the destruct sequence. You're gonna have to blow the base. Get out of there, fast."

"Captain, I just-"

"There's no time! You don't have any choice. If Dread gets his hands on what's in that base, the resistance is finished."

"Just give us 3 minutes, I'm gonna do a backup on Mentor and grab the extra suit."

"Negative!" Jon commanded.

"That's standard evac procedure!" Pilot protested.

"Hang procedure! Get out of there Pilot, now, that's an order."

The connection was lost. Katie looked at Pilot. "Your call..." she said quietly. Pilot didn't answer, but instead kept working.

"Mentor, initiate backup procedures. I want your personality matrix and all recent data flows." She said, while plugging a backup drive into the computer. "Execute."

As troopers blasted through the base, Katie and Pilot retrieved the seventh and final Power Suit from storage. When they were done, Pilot continued her job.

"Mentor, retina scan and voice identification. Jennifer Chase. Codename, Pilot. Access level blue five." A secret control panel on the computer arose. "Activate auto destruct sequence. Authorization code seven nine nine five omega destruct." She pushed the button.

Mentor looked at the girls. "Order to destruct acknowledged. You have four minutes to reach minimum safety distance."

The girls looked at Mentor and then at each other. It was now or never. They powered their suits up and moved out. They still had to get out of the base and far enough away, or they'd be killed, and they knew it.

They jogged through the corridors towards the docking bay. If nothing else, they had to get the backup and the extra suit away so Jon and the others could retrieve them at a later time.

Troopers blasted at them, and they fought back. While they tried to escape, Blastarr found his way to the control room and destroyed it, effectively stopping the auto destruct sequence.

When the computer announced that the auto destruct had been halted, Pilot and Katie looked at each other.

"Not good." Katie said tersely. "It's gotta be Blastarr."

Pilot nodded quickly and put the bag with the extra suit and the backup drive onto the nearest skybike. She looked at Katie. "Go."

"Uh-uh. Not without you. No way." Katie shook her head. "Either we both go, or neither of us goes."

"Medic..." Pilot started.

"Don't you Medic me, Jennifer Chase. You wanna go stop him, let's go stop him. But don't think for one second I'm going to let you go back in there by yourself while I leave. Not. Gonna. Happen."

Pilot was smart enough to realize that Katie meant business. She pushed a button on the skybike. "Voice identification Pilot. Engage auto control." She and Katie strapped the bag down and she kept talking. "Take off and rendezvous at sector 13 grid 3. Cover until contacted." When they were finished, she pushed another button on the control panel. "Execute."

The skybike powered up and took off. Pilot looked at Medic. "You ready?"

"Not quite." Katie replied. She pushed a button on her Power Suit and immediately became invisible. "Now, I am."

Pilot nodded, understanding that Medic's invisibility may give them the upper hand. "Let's go. He's in the control room."

They ran back towards the control room, but didn't get too far when they were face to face with Blastarr.

Katie stayed back, letting Pilot engage Blastarr and the troopers. The longer she held out and didn't let him know she was there, the better. The second she shot at him, her cover would be blown, and she didn't want that. Not yet.

Pilot held her own, taking out the troopers that were nearby, and getting a few good shots in at Blastarr. As she darted down a hall, with him firing at her, she tripped and he hit her square in the back. She fell to the floor in a heap of rubble.

"_Shit!_" Katie thought.

Pilot crawled away, obviously in a lot of pain, and Blastarr started heading towards her, moving past Katie's position. Katie quickly looked around for something, anything, she could use to put through Blastarr without him knowing what was coming.

Pilot almost made it to the door, being shot again, and again, her Power Suit failing as the door opened. She slumped beside it, briefly, but then crawled through the door, forgetting that Katie was even there.

Katie quickly grabbed a large pipe, amazed that Blastarr didn't realize what she was doing. He was so focused on getting into the control room where Pilot was communicating with Jon and the rest of the team, that he didn't pay attention to anything else. He blasted the doors and came in, yelling at Pilot.

"Surrender! By order of Lord Dread."

"Go to hell." Pilot said.

Katie swung the pipe at Blastarr and knocked him off balance slightly. She hit the button on her suit and became visible again. One look at Pilot told her the younger woman was severely injured and needed major medical assistance.

"Pilot..."

"I'm sorry." Pilot keyed in the manual destruct sequence and the base began to explode.

"NO!" Katie screamed. She moved faster than she'd ever moved in her life and grabbed Pilot. She knew about one thing that Pilot didn't think of: a bomb shelter. As the base blew up around them, she hauled Pilot's injured body down to the shelter and shut the hatch.

"You crazy fool!" Katie screamed at Pilot, as she started assessing Pilot's injuries in the dimly lit room. "We coulda just blown him up! We have grenades, you know!"

Pilot gasped, pained. "I had to..."

"Whatever. Just lay still. I gotta figure out where to start here..."

"I'm gonna die, Katie..."

"Shut up you are not. Not on my watch. I'm not a fighter, I couldn't help you out there, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to do the job I'm supposed to do." She said as she worked. "How far away are they?"

"The team? I think they saw the explosion."

"Great." Katie groaned. "So they think we're dead. Second time in my life they've thought I'm dead. Wait. If they're close...maybe..." She stopped working briefly and hit the comm button on her helmet. "Jon? Dad? Guys? Can you hear me?"

"Katie?!" Jon and Hawk exclaimed at once. Hawk followed it with an "Oh thank God."

"Don't thank God yet, Dad." Katie said grimly.

"Where are you? Is Pilot with you?" Jon asked.

"We're in the bomb shelter under the base. And she's here, but she isn't doing well and I've got next to nothing to help her. Blastarr really did a number on her up there."

"Katie, there should be a large medical kit in the far corner of the shelter." Scout piped up. "I put it there ages ago. Just in case. Will that help?"

Katie spotted the kit. "Thank you, Scout! Just...hurry up, guys. Please."

She grabbed the kit and got to work, trying to repair Pilot's injuries. What she needed was a surgeon, as she knew Pilot had extensive internal injuries, and her tools weren't going to cut it without help. Pilot was growing weaker by the second and had already lost consciousness.

"Hey guys...any way we can be connected to a doctor in the Passages? I'm gonna lose her if I don't have help..." Katie asked. She knew the team was above her somewhere, trying to get through the rubble to save them.

"Give me a minute." Scout replied. Katie waited. A few moments later, he got back to her. "Katie? I have Dr. Gaiman on the comm-link. He should be able to help you out."

"Thanks Scout." Katie replied. "Dr. Gaiman?"

"Medic, quickly tell me what we're up against." the doctor said.

"Um. Blastarr shot her about five times. My scan indicates several broken ribs and lots of internal injuries. I don't even know where to start. I'm not a surgeon."

"Is she awake?" 

"No. She passed out. I have an O2 mask on her."

"If I instruct you, do you think you can do the required procedures on her?"

"Yes." Katie didn't even hesitate. She had no idea if she could, but she was going to do everything she could to save Pilot, and that included surgery.

"Okay, listen carefully..."

Over the next hours, Katie worked diligently on Pilot as the rest of the team tried their best to get through the rubble. It was tiresome, dirty, work for everybody, but eventually, the team cleared away the door of the bomb shelter. They opened it and climbed down the stairs. Katie was still working on Pilot when they arrived. She glanced at them quickly, with a look that said "Don't say a damned word until I'm done or I'll shoot you", then carried on.

Eventually, she said, "Okay, Dr. Gaiman."

"Are there any bleeders?"

"No."

"Okay, good. How are her vitals?"

Katie checked and was happy with what she saw. "Stable." she said quietly. The reality of what she had just done...likely saved Pilot's life...hit and she almost choked on the word.

"Let's close her up, then. Can you stitch?"

"Yes." Katie replied.

"Good. Do it. Once you're able to, take her to me here in the Passages and we'll keep working on her recovery."

Katie nodded and began stitching Pilot up. "Okay. Thank you, Dr. Gaiman."

It sounded like the doctor was smiling when he replied. "You did all the work, Katie. Good job. I'll see you soon."

Katie didn't look at the team again until she had finished. Finally, she looked over at them. "We need to get her to the Passages."

"We know." Jon said. "Tank can lift her out of here."

"I probably did more harm than good hauling her down here," Katie chuckled softly. "But she didn't give me much choice."

"We're proud of you." Hawk said to his daughter. "You just saved her life."

Katie shrugged. She wasn't really proud of herself, and she said as much on the flight to the Passages after they got out of the bomb shelter, and after they'd picked up the skybike with the extra Power Suit and the backup of Mentor.

"I let her handle it alone." She admitted to Jon as they sat in the back of the Jumpship. "I made myself invisible and stayed that way. I feel like...I don't know. Like if I hadn't have done that, she wouldn't be hurt as bad."

"If Blastarr and the troopers had seen you, they would have shot at you too, right?" Jon asked.

"Yeah..."

"What do you think would have happened?"

Realization hit Katie. She had done the right thing during the fight after all. "We'd both be dead." she said softly.

"Yup." Jon confirmed. "Because you went invisible and hung back, you were able to get both of you down to the bomb shelter...down to safety. If you had fought with her, I can pretty much guarantee that would not have been the case. You didn't let her down. You did your job, the main part of which is to make sure we get out alive."

"Was Blastarr destroyed?"

Jon nodded. "Everything in the base was destroyed. Except for you two, because of the bomb shelter. He won't be regenerating this time. He's done."

"Where are we going to go?"

"My dad had a second base made, just in case of something like this happening." Jon admitted. "We'll go there. But not until she's well enough. Until then, we'll stay at the Passages."

"Okay." Katie nodded. It didn't surprise her that Stuart had given them a back-up plan, just in case. From there, they could move on in their fight to save humanity and stop Dread once and for all.

**THE END**


End file.
